The Secret Assignments
by Phaerie
Summary: [OMG! I updated!][HG RHr maybe other pairings later]Ginny and Hermione have begun a battle of revenge via the Secret Assignments. Who will win? And what else is in store for Ginny this year at Hogwarts?
1. Let the Secret Assignments Begin

**A/N: Well, since Snapshots is finished (except for the epilogue that I need to write, hmm…) I decided to start a new fic. It's Harry/Ginny for the most part, cause I'm just in one of those moods, though there will probably be some other pairings. I got the idea from this awesome book that I just finished reading: The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter and Co. or the whole secret assignments idea. I'm in desperate need of some originality, aren't I?

**The Secret Assignments**

**Chapter One**

**Let the Secret Assignments Begin**

"So, any of you up for it?" Hermione asked, the eager glint in her eyes scaring me just a teensy bit. I shifted on the stiff cushion of the train bench as she looked around at all of us in the compartment. I should have known something was up when Herm ditched the Checker Board Squares (known to some as my brother Ronald and his best mate, the Boy-Who-Lived-Just-To-Watch-Me-Make-A-Fool-Of-Myself-And-Laugh-At-Expense) to drag the four of us into an empty compartment with her.

"I don't know, Hermione. Secret Assignments? What exactly are we supposed to do?" Lavender asked uncertainly. She and Parvati were doing that thing where they talk to each other telepathically, which is really creepy because whenever they do that I always end up wondering if they can read anyone's mind, instead of just each other's. And that would be seriously creepy, them being able to read my mind.

"Oh, come on! It'd be like an extended version of Truth or Dare. You can assign anything you want – well, anything _reasonable_ that you want. It'd be really cool, don't you think?" Hermione persisted. Excuse me a moment while I take a mental note to remind myself to never buy her another one of those muggle teen novels. _Ever_. Bloody things give her too many crazy ideas. Though, admittedly, this isn't as bad as that whole S.P.E.W. thing she had going a few years back. She just wanted to do this whole Secret Assignments/Truth or Dare thing. She said it'd be a good way to strengthen our bonds of friendship, which I interpret to mean _build_ our bonds of friendship considering that out of the four of us here (Me, Hermy, Lavender, Parvati, and Luna) I'm the only one Hermione considers her friend, and I only consider her and Luna to be my friends.

"I think it sounds fantastic," Luna said softly from my right. I turned to her and raised an eyebrow. She didn't notice though, she was absorbed in an issue of _The_ _Quibbler_. According to the cover, it's a special holiday issue, though for what holiday it doesn't specify.

"See? Luna agrees with me!" Hermione pounced on the first optimistic comment one of them had said the whole conversation. Lavender and Parvati looked at each other again – more of their telepathy thing. I'd feel much safer around those two if I could learn how to block people from reading your mind. Like setting up a mental brick wall that lets in no intruders.

"I guess it wouldn't kill us to give it a shot," Parvati sighed. Hermione clapped her hands together and bounced in her seat. She can be so immature sometimes.

"Ginny?" I looked to Hermione when she said my name and noticed everyone was staring at me now, except for Luna. That most be a _really_ interesting holiday special issue.

"Yeah Hermy?" I asked innocently. _Please don't ask me to join in your little game._

"Are you in or what?" Lavender and Parvati asked in unison. Hermione's excitement had spread, dear Merlin. _Sorry, no, I'll have to pass._

"Why not?" I heard myself ask and shrugged my shoulders. _Ginevra Weasley, you're worse under pressure than a rotten banana._

"Excellent! Now, let's start with code names!" Hermione said while she reached inside her rucksack and pulled out some parchment and a muggle pen (much more practical for when you're writing while inside a moving vehicle, with all the bumps and sharp turns).

"Code names? What are we, Hermione, _nine_?" Lavender asked. Code names are a bit childish, even for Hermy when she's in one of these moods.

"_Please_?" Dear Merlin, she's practically begging. What is she on, I wonder? Whatever it is, she had better share. _Friends share because they care, Hermione!_

"I think code names would be quite sensible," Luna commented, her eyes actually leaving the page she was reading to glance at us. Only for a second though. She's back to reading about…_Day of the Dead_? That sounds like a cheerful holiday. _Is _that a holiday?

"It's a Spanish holiday," Luna murmured. All this time I was worried about Lavender and Parvati reading my mind, when it was Luna all along! I should have known… I need to work on constructing that mental brick wall immediately.

"Luna, would you care to elaborate on exactly _why_ code names would be sensible?" Parvati asked, peering around me to look at her.

"Not really, no." Wow, that Day of the Dead stuff must be simply fascinating. Parvati huffed and fell back in her seat.

"Luna's right. Think about it, what if a teacher happens upon an assignment? They're going to be written out, so it'd be best to use code names so we don't get into trouble." There's the sensible Hermione we all know and tolerate.

"Why would we get into trouble? Exactly what are we doing?" Lavender and Parvati exclaimed.

"Like I said, pretty much anything. And don't sound so much like a couple of Hufflepuffs! Where's your Gryffindor spirit?" Hermy demanded.

"What has any of this got to do with bloody Houses?" I muttered. Lavender and Parvati nodded as if to say "Yeah!"

"Nothing really. But getting back on track, I think I'll be Game Master. It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" Hermy chirped, seriously, it sounded like she was an effing bird, and started scribbling down some stuff. She had her knees propped up so I couldn't read what she was writing from across the compartment.

"Whatever," Lavender grumbled as Parvati asked the ceiling, "Why do we even bother?"

"Alright! So, Luna, what do you want your code name to be?" Hermione asked, very acutely ignoring her disgruntled roommates.

Luna actually closed her magazine, carefully holding her space with her thumb, and looked out the train window in thought. Smiling in a slightly creepy way, she turned back to Hermione and pronounced, "Marvin. I'll be Marvin."

Hermione practically squealed, "The manically depressed robot?" Luna nodded in her mysterious way and went back to looking at some eerie pictures of skull shaped candy.

"Have you any idea what they're on about?" Parvati asked me. Lavender had scooted away from Hermione as far down the bench as she could, leaving her pressed up against the window.

"Not a clue," I told her. I didn't have the slightest idea.

Hermione waved her hand dismissively, "It's a muggle book. Now, Parvati? What's your code name going to be?"

Parvati began drumming her brilliant red-painted nails on her knee as she thought. I wish I could do that, paint my nails red I mean. Problem is it clashes horribly with my hair. Unable to think of a fitting code name, she turned to Lavender. Time for more telepathy. I want to learn to be a telepath. Maybe I can use a secret assignment to make one of them teach me the arts of telepathy. That would be cool. They might even know how to do that mental brick wall thing.

Oh dear. They have that look in their eyes that Crookshanks gets when he's just cornered a house elf – malicious triumph. "I think I'll be LaFawndah," Parvati finally proclaimed.

"And I'll be Shaniqua," Lavender added, snatching Hermy's pen and parchment to jot their code names down. Hermione, meanwhile, was hiding her giggles behind her hand. She looks really funny when she does that, like she's choking on something - since her face gets all red - and can't spit it out. Luna was grinning, though I doubt it had anything to do with the article she was reading.

"Did I miss something?" I asked curiously. Then they all started giggling. At my expense. I hate it when they do that. Though, this is the first time they've ever done it _collectively_. "Hardy har har, let's all laugh at Gin since we can't tell a decent joke," I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring at them all.

There was Hermione waving her hand again. _Why, hello, Hermy. Fancy meeting you here. No, sorry, I can't stop for a chat, I've an important previous engagement that I must attend. So sorry._ "Never mind, Gin. So, how about Nelson for your code name?" she suggested giddily.

"Nelson? How come you all get to pick out your names, but I get stuck with _Nelson_?" I demanded, complete with balled fists and foot stomping action.

"Then we could call you Nelly! How cute!" Lavender giggled.

Time for a mature comeback. I gave them all a raspberry. That'll sure show them to make fun of me. "Or not. I think I'll be the Mad Hatter," I stated airily.

"Mad Hatter?" Parvati questioned incredulously, breaking into another giggle fit.

"Because she's gone quite mad, obviously," Luna explained. Okay, that wasn't exactly what I was going for, but it'll do.

"Alright then," Hermione said as she clamed down, "We have Game Master, Marvin, LaFawndah, Shaniqua, and Mad Hatter. Interesting names to say the least. Now we just need to set up some basic rules. Rule number one, all assignments must be written, and they can't be sent by owl."

"So then how are we supposed to deliver them if we aren't in the same house?" Parvati asked.

"Get creative. Now, as far as the first assignments go, I'll be issuing them since I'm the Game Master. Each assignment has to entail who the assignment is from and who it is to - a given. A deadline is required for when the assignment has to be completed by. Nothing illegal, as in against the law. School rules can be broken though – "

The rest of us gasped _en masse_. Had Hermione Granger just said that _school rules could be broken_? What is the world coming to, I ask you?

"It wouldn't be a very fun game if we didn't break any rules, would it?" Hermione asked rhetorically with an eye roll. "You _have_ to complete your assignment on time. Failure to do so will result in the use of special charms to ensure that it does not happen again. You can, however, appeal for an extension if, say, you're stuck in the hospital wing. And you can't be cheap and use the secret assignments to get one of us to do your homework for you. That's just unacceptable."

"At least we know she hasn't gone _completely_ insane," Parvati stage whispered to me. I couldn't help but smile. Lavender choked on a giggle. Hermione didn't react. Six years of having to put up with rooming with Lavender Parvati must have made her completely immune to their antics. A useful habit, I must admit.

"Right, so, that should cover everything for now. Any questions, address them to me on parchment. You'll find your first assignments on your bedside tables when you return to your dorms after the feast," Hermione said, standing up to exit our humble compartment.

"You've been planning this thing for a while haven't you?" I couldn't help but ask as she opened the door.

She turned back and smiled happily, "Only since I finished that book you got me." And with that she stepped out into the narrow corridor and made off to find the Checker Board Squares.

"So this is all _your _fault," Parvati and Lavender whispered together in their creepy way, turning to me with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, come on, it'll be great fun, don't you think?" Neither of them looked like they would readily agree with me. "Luna?" I tried, but she was engrossed in _The Quibbler_ again. Shame.

Hermy took the opportunity to pop back in for a quick warning then: "Remember, should you get caught, you have the right to remain silent." Next second, she'd disappeared again. _Well, _that's _reassuring._

**Hogwarts**

**Gin-Gin's Super Secret Journal**

**(Not Diary. _Journal_.)**

_September 1, 1996_

'_Lo Journal,_

_I think I've gotten myself into a spot of trouble. Again. Just found my first secret assignment. I'll stick it in here instead of writing it out. Have to exact revenge shortly. Hermy's going down for this one._

**To: **Mad Hatter

**From: **Game Master

**Assignment: **Knick a pair of Harry's boxers. Bring them to the Room of Requirement on the deadline specified below. Have fun!

**Deadline: **Friday, Sept. 5

**A/N: And that's the end of Chapter One. I realize that some of the stuff I mention doesn't actually fall within the timeline, but it's nothing to outrageous, so live with it. It's not as if I'm having them listen to Avril Lavigne in the Marauder Era. Also note that this takes place in Hermione's sixth year, Ginny's fifth. Yeah, I don't feel like sticking to canon, I feel like writing something fun, so no depressing Voldie-poo. Don't like it? Don't read it. Tell me what you think of it so far. I would greatly appreciate a review. Even if it's a flame. At least I'll have a spark of happiness seeing that my inbox isn't empty anymore. Tootles!**

**-Phaerie**

**B/N: Howdy! Yeah this is Phaerie's sister and it is currently very early in the morning so if I missed a few things please don't get too mad cause I was forced into reading this against my will while I was still half asleep so yeah…if you can't stand it, get over it. Anyways back to what I was originally going to say. The whole Nelson thing came from me cause it's my nickname and my sis shortened it so it would sound like a girl's name…but yeah it's a long story. I figured it would be nice if she put it in there since Ginny and I share the same name and it would be fitting to have the same nickname…but yeah anyways I'm done blabbing on continuously so I'll go now. Au revoir.**

**-Clause **


	2. Secret Assignment Headquarters

**A/N: I've resorted to messing around with the voice recorder settings. Like speeding up my awful singing and then putting it in reverse. Amusing, but totally pointless. I take this as a sign that I should be working on fics instead of…not. Yay for reviewers! Special Thank You Time!**

**blaiselover: **Well, this isn't exactly soon, course that depends on your definition of 'soon', but it's an update! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

**Thunder's Shadow: **Napoleon Dynamite is da BOMB. Yeah, anyways. I plan on working on the epilogue as soon as I get this chapter done. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!

**Werewolf of London: **Hola mi amiga! QUE? -switching back to English cause I have no idea how to write this in Spanish- What do you mean the plot makes you go 'WTF'? I like the plot. –back to Español- Muchas gracias por leyendo y –reviewing-!

**Sabine Strohem-Moss: **Well, this isn't updating ASAP, far from it actually, but it is an update. The next chapter shouldn't take me so long to write. Hopefully. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing this fic and some of my others as well!

**Augurey Song: **Hmm…I'll have to kill my beta for not noticing that. Shame on her; she's supposed to fix that stuff. Although, it may just be that neither of us knows how to count, which is very possible. Thanks oodles for reading and reviewing!

**Alisama2: **They are awfully OOC…oh well! Luna's still in Ravenclaw, though. I hope I don't make it cheesy, so if you spot some cheesiness, could you please point it out for me? Thanks gobs for reading and reviewing!

**Snow White: **More has finally arrived! I hope you like this chapter. Thanks bunches for reading and reviewing!

**Akisuzume: **I am going to try to make this an incredibly funny fic, cause I think those are the most fun to read. Thanks tons for reading and reviewing!

**Remyymer2408: **I so loved that book. I'm reading it for the third time right now. Thanks oodles for reading and reviewing!

**Disclaimer: **Phaerie doesn't own/Which is clearly shown/In this rhyming disclaimer/Which is really lame-er.

**The Secret Assignments**

**Chapter 2**

**Secret Assignment Headquarters**

_Alright, Ginny, just think of this as a super secret mission deep into the heart of an active volcano in which you have to recover...Harry's boxers. _That's what I'd been telling myself since I'd received Game Master's 'assignment.' I really felt like a secret agent though, hugging the walls and peering around corners, ducking behind furniture and dodging wide open spaces. All that was missing was a theme song. Like 'da da DUH! Da da DUH! DUH DUH!'

I peeked around the armrest of the chair I was hiding behind – the common room was deserted, coast clear – and executed a fabulous somersault that brought me to the foot of the boys' staircase.

Okay, so maybe I was going a bit overboard, but this secret assignment from the sadistic Game Master called for the utmost caution and planning. It was Thursday night, just under twenty-four hours to the deadline Hermy had set – time to get this horrible endeavor over with so that I could get to the planning of my revenge. Everyone in Gryffindor tower was at dinner in the Great Hall. I had to sacrifice yummy pumpkin pie for this assignment and my stomach was reminding me regularly of its abysmal emptiness.

I started climbing the stairs – carefully, one at a time. By the time I made it to the sixth year boys' dorm, my nerves were totally wired. I turned my head to the left; turned my head to the right. I slowly lifted my arm and let my hand hover over the brass doorknob. I checked to my left again; checked to my right. Left. Right. Left. Right. Not only was I stalling, but I was also making myself dizzy. I took a deep breath and turned the knob.

The hinges of the door creaked ominously as I poked my head inside. The dorm was incredibly messy, disgustingly so, but it was otherwise unoccupied. I slipped inside and shut the door quietly behind me, leaning against it as I surveyed my surroundings in search of Harry's bed.

There were some muggle posters over the bed closest to me – Dean's. The one with the Chudley Cannons paraphernalia was obviously Ron's. Neville's was the one with a plant on the nightstand. That left Harry's and Seamus', but whose was whose? Well, I doubted Harry's favorite Quidditch team was the Ballycastle Bats, so that left the one over by the window.

I knelt down in front of the trunk at the foot of the four-poster and unlatched the two clasps. Lifting it up carefully, I was glad to note that at least Harry's trunk was relatively organized. It made my job all the more easy. His clothes were stacked right on top. I only had to pull out his school uniform and then bingo: a pair of dark green boxers with little Snitches on them. I managed to replace his uniform and shut the lid of the trunk before I dissolved into what can only be described as giddy giggles. It was too cute, Harry actually having Snitch-themed boxers.

The fact that it had all been going so well so far should have had me on high alert. Unfortunately, my guard was completely shattered the moment I caught sight of those boxers. I shouldn't have been so surprised when an all too familiar voice asked confusedly, "Ginny?" But I was, not to mention astronomically embarrassed. This would be the part where the 'DUN DUN DUN' came in.

I stood and spun around quickly to face Harry, keeping the boxers behind my back. He didn't have his glasses on, I noted with much relief. Of course, he didn't have much else on either, just a towel. He must have just gotten out of the shower because his hair was wet and sticking to his face. A drop of water began rolling down his neck, then down his chest. Sweet Merlin, was he ripped. _Harry, have you been working out? Why yes, Ginny, I have. So good of you to notice._

"What are you doing in here?" Harry asked, squinting at me while looking quite befuddled. Probably the worst thing about having red hair, besides the fact that it clashes with almost everything, is that when a redhead blushes, his or her head remarkably resembles a giant fireball. Currently, I imagined I could be named queen of the fireball head.

"Er," I began articulately, "I was, uh, just looking for, um, Ron. You wouldn't happen to know where I could find him, would you?" That was a perfectly believable excuse for being in the boys' dorm, in my opinion.

"He's probably still at dinner," he said, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Dinner? Of course," I exclaimed, slapping my forehead and throwing a sheepish grin at Harry as I inched backwards toward the door. "How silly of me, that should have been the first place I checked. Well, uh, sorry to barge in like this. I'll just leave you to…get dressed." By now I had reached the door and was searching for the handle frantically. Finally finding it, I twisted the knob and spun out of the room with a quick, "Toodles."

The second I had slammed the door shut, I bolted for the sanctity of my own dorm. Sitting on my bed, I folded my legs under me and laid out the spoils of my plunder. I took a deep breath and tried to slow down my breathing. Hermione was going to pay dearly for this. Although, getting to see Harry in just a towel was well worth it. Plus, I could now easily picture him in the Snitch boxers. This sent me into another giddy giggle fit.

Then the door burst open and my roommates entered, nearly giving me a heart attack. I stuffed the boxers under my pillow, said a quick "Hi, bye" to them, and fled for the kitchens. My eyes may have been full from all the eye-candy Harry provided, but my stomach was still protesting its lack of sustenance.

* * *

Thankfully, I didn't have to skip dinner on Friday night. Hermy hadn't specified what time to meet at the Room of Requirement, but when I popped into the Great Hall and saw her eating happily, I took that to mean that we would be meeting after dinner. There wasn't any pumpkin pie though, which was a great injustice. 

Hermione excused herself from the table about twenty minutes later and looked over to Parvati and Lavender, who stood as well. They left the Hall, Hermy a few steps ahead of them. I looked over to the Ravenclaw table and spotted Luna. She was reading something, totally oblivious to the rest of the world. A well-aimed charm that knocked over her drink quickly rectified the situation. I lifted my eyebrows when she finally looked over at me and nodded my head - quite inconspicuously for I was a master secret agent, trained in the arts of stealth and secrecy – toward the doors. We quickly stood and rendezvoused out in corridor.

"I'll meet you there," Luna said, "I've got to stop by my dorm first." I nodded and headed for the stairs. I assumed she had to go back to get whatever it was Hermy had made her go after. My assignment was tucked securely in my rucksack, which was slung over my shoulder. By the time I reached the seventh floor, Hermy was waiting with the door open, smiling and, oddly enough, humming to herself. My vision narrowed and had I had the ability, I would have growled ferociously at her. How dare she be so cheerful after what I had to go through because of her?

I stomped into the room, flung down my bag, and dropped onto the plush couch that was against the far wall. The room was cozy, filled with fluffy pillows and cushions. There was a small circular table in the middle with a lamp sitting on it. Parvati and Lavender were lounging comfortably on piles of brightly colored pillows.

The door suddenly closed and I looked over to see Luna coming over to sit on the couch and Hermione leaning against the door. "Welcome to the Secret Assignment Headquarters," Hermy began, "If you would, please place the items you were requested to bring with you onto the table."

Luna pulled out a case of butterbeer and set it down, instantly rising questions from Parvati. Luna just smiled when she was inquired about how she'd gotten a hold of the drinks. I never should have shown her that secret passage into Hogsmeade. Come to think of it, Fred and George should have never shown _me_ that secret passage into Hogsmeade. Lavender pulled a camera from her bag and put in on the table while Parvati pulled out what looked like a miniature treasure chest.

"Ginny?" Hermione asked when I didn't move. Not only had my vision narrowed again, but I was now only capable of seeing red. I had to nick Harry's boxers, but all they had to do was _go shopping_? _Calm down, Gin. Maybe they had to nick them from someone. Yes, that would be perfectly understandable._

"Where'd you get this stuff?" I asked as calmly as I could manage.

Parvati quirked an eyebrow and replied, "I've had this old chest sitting in my trunk for ages. It was a present from my Grams. Never had a use for it until now, really."

"I got this camera for my birthday about a month ago," Lavender supplied perplexedly.

My eye had developed a noticeable twitch. Hermione pulled out her wand and with a quick swish, flick, and "_Expellieramus," _she had disarmed me. I was still quite capable of strangling her though.

"What's up with you, Ginny?" Parvati asked, backing away.

"All they had to do was search their trunks from some stuff, and I had to bloody well _nick Harry's boxers_?" I shouted indignantly as I shot up off the couch (which I was reluctant to do because it was one of those couches that you just sink right into) and threw my bag on the table. Lavender and Parvati gasped then dissolved into giggles, something they seemed quite prone to doing, while Luna and Hermione tried to hide their smiles behind their hands.

"Don't worry; you'll have plenty of time to exact your just revenge. By the way, how did it go? Harry hasn't said a word all day, did he catch you?" Hermione asked conversationally as she tried to keep a straight face. Her mouth kept twitching though, so it didn't really work. I huffed and I puffed and all they did was laugh at me. Soon they would all pay. (Insert a maniacal laugh.)

"Let's see them, then," Lavender urged through her giggles. Before I could get back my bag, though, Parvati had pulled them out. The second I saw them my anger dissipated. They were just _too cute_. It was at this point that there was gut-busting laughter in bounds.

"Are those really Harry's?" Parvati asked incredulously in between guffaws. I could only nod back vigorously, I was laughing so hard.

"Perfect," Hermy gasped when the laughter had subsided for the most part. She picked up the camera and looked to Lavender, "It's one of those instant developing ones, right?" At Lavender's nod, she grinned and snapped a picture of the boxers that were now lying on the table. It popped right out of the camera and Hermy placed it inside the chest. Shutting the clasp, she turned back to us and explained, "Evidence, such as a photo, will be required for certain assignments and will be kept inside this chest. We'll meet here every Friday night just after dinner unless we are otherwise occupied," I snorted at this point, which in turn set off the Great Giggling Duo. "Tonight, we'll celebrate the Mad Hatter's successful theft of these most interesting boxers," with that, the butterbeers were passed around and clanged together in a toast.

"You're putting those back in his room, I hope you know," I told Hermione after taking a quick swig of the delightful drink.

"I will, so long as you spill what happened to make Harry clam up," she said with a sickly sweet smile. _Oh, you are _so _going to pay._

**

* * *

Ginny's Super Secret Journal**

_September 5, 1996_

_Dearest Journal who is my only friend,_

_Just got back from the S.A. meeting. Words cannot describe just how much I loathe Hermy right now. On the bright side, I have thought of my revenge._

**To: **Game Master

**From: **Mad Hatter

**Assignment: **I hear from my brother that you have a test coming up in Potions. Your assignment, dear Game Master, is to not score full marks. Good luck!

**Deadline: **Bring the test paper to HQ as soon as you get it back.

_Take that, Miss Smarty Pants! Unfortunately, I just got an assignment from Lavender._

**To: **Mad Hatter

**From:** Shaniqua

**Assignment: **Since you're so adept in the art of thievery, I need you to grab a couple items from Snape's personal potions store: powdered horn of a bicorn and shredded skin of a boomslang. Thanks oodles!

**Deadline: **I'd like to have them by Sunday. If there's a problem with that, you know where to find me.

_Well, at least this'll be an easy one, right? (Note the sarcasm.)_

**A/N: And that's the end of chapter dos. I'm trying to decide whether or not I should switch POVs, like between the five of them, you know? As always, tell me what you think in a review, and if you have any suggestions for assignments, they would be greatly appreciated!**

**-Phaerie**

**P.S. Anybody know what potion those two ingredients are for?**

**B/N: Howdy! I'm very hyper…well sort of anyways. Ummmm…. No idea what to say. Sorry if I missed any mistakes, I'm only so good at grammar. It's not exactly my best subject. But anyways I want to go do other stuff now so I'm going to. Tah.  
**

**-Clause **


	3. Talking it Out

**A/N: Chapter three is finally here! Yay! I'm so sleepy right now...Busy day. And I have a busy day tomorrow. Grr. I don't like being busy. I like lazing around the house, pretending I have a life. It's so relaxing.**

**Disclaimer: **Phaerie doesn't own it. Whatever it is. It's like how McDonald's slogan is 'I'm lovin' it'. What's it? The 'white meat chicken'? Phaerie doesn't think it's chicken, white meat or otherwise. Maybe it's pork, you know, the other white meat.

**ronslilprincess: **I so love that book. I just keep rereading it, over and over. Thank you soooo much for reading and reviewing!

**Sabine Strohem-Moss:** I'm so glad you like it so far. Muchas gracias for reading and reviewing!

**Augurey Song: **Yup, those ingredients are used in the Polyjuice Potion. You get a cookie! (An imaginary one, regretfully, cause my brother ate the last of them.) Thanks oodles for reading and reviewing!

**forbiddenlight:** Is Marvin a chronically depressed robot? I can't remember. I need to check my book...Thanks for reading and reviewing:D

**Snow White:** I've decided to keep the story in Ginny's POV, with diary entries and such from the other girls. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!

**blaiselover:** Bingo! Polyjuice Potion, it is. Trying to write in different POVs was a lot harder than I thought, so I've put that on hold for right now. Thanks mega-tons for reading and reviewing!

**dress-without-sleeves:** That has got to be the best review I have ever recieved. Thank you sosososooooo much!

**Dovasary:** I love the Hitchhiker books, they're awesome. And Marvin is like my fave character ever. I really loved him in the movie too, cause Alan Rickman did his voice, and I love Alan Rickman. I think it's funny that he plays Snape, too. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!

**charmingly-holly:** Gyah! I love nice reviews like that oodles upon oodles! Thank you soooo much for reading and reviewing!

**famousindafuture: **Well, I finally got around to writing some more. I hope you enjoy it! Thanks bunches for reading and reviewing!

**quidditchgurl07: **The Year of the Secret Assignments is one of my all time fave books. Thank you thank you thank you for reading and reviewing!

**I-Lurve-Harry-and-Ron:** Yay! You got the potion right! You deserve a cookie! I swear I would give you one if I had any, but I don't, so just imagine a super yummy cookie from me! Thanks bundles for reading and reviewing!

**The Secret Assignments**

**Talking It Out**

**By Phaerie**

I was just sitting in the common room, minding my own business, and making it look like I was working on the History of Magic essay that was due Monday while actually reading the new issue of _Witch Weekly_, when Hermione stormed in and made a beeline for me. "Ginevra Molly Weasley," she hissed, much like a cat. This had me on guard instantly, for you see, a cat hissing is much more dangerous than a snake hissing. At least when a snake attacks you, you go numb from the poison. With a cat, there is no numbness, it'll just keep clawing at you if it's pissed enough. She also addressed me by my full name - another bad sign. Either someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, or she found the assignment I stashed in her copy of _Hogwarts: A History_.

"Yes, dear Hermy?" I asked pleasently, sticking on a sickly-sweet smile for good measure as I turned to face her. Best to butter her up now.

"What is _this_?" she demanded as she waved her fist at me, a crumpled piece of parchment trapped in her clutches. Spittle splattered me in the face, which was quite gross and highly unsanitary. Screw buttering her up if she was going to spit on me.

"I don't know what it looks like to you, but to me it clearly resembles a piece of parchment," I replied sarcastically, flipping a page of my magazine disinterestedly.

Then, of course, she grabbed me roughly be the elbow and yanked me from my cozy little spot to drag me up the girls' staricase. Once we reached the sixth year girls' room, she shoved me in and slammed the door behind us. Spinning around she spat, "Perhaps you would care to explain why Mad Hatter wants me to purposefully miss a question on my next test?"

"How would I know? Why don't you ask this Mad Hatter character?" I asked innocently as I plopped down on the nearest bed and picked absently at the bedspread.

"Ginny," she warned, pulling her wand on me.

Grinning wickedly, I pushed her wand aside and chirped, "Revenge."

She exhaled loudly through her nose and crossed her arms. "Well, tough luck. I'm not doing it," she scoffed.

"But you said it yourself, Hermy," I pointed out happily, "Anyone who fails to complete an assignment will have to face the consequences."

"Yes, but I also said that the assignments were to have nothing to do with schoolwork," she retorted pompously.

"No, you said, and I quote, 'You can't be cheap and use the secret assignments to get one of us to do your homework for you.' No rules were made pertaining to schoolwork other than homework." Loophole! _Stick that in your pipe and smoke it!_

"I may have, but - "

"Ah," I tutted, "There is no set rule saying that the assignment is void. Therefore, you have to go theough with it, or face the consequences you yourself set, Game Master." I grinned triumphantly, I loved beating people at their own game; such sweet satisfaction.

"Oh fine," she huffed, stomping over to the door and throwing it open violently. "But I'm bringing this up at the next meeting. And remember," her voice dropped back to a catty hiss, "Pay back is hell, Weasley."

Oh, I'm shaking in my trainers.

* * *

**Gin-Gin's Top-Secret Journal**

_September 6, 1996_

_Dear, dear Journal,_

_First off, why is Journal capitilized, as if it were your name? Maybe it is your name. Huh, that's a funny name. Alright, now to the actual point of this entry:_

_HAZAA! Just had the inevitable confrontation with Hermy. Everything is going according to plan so far. Something she said got me thinking though. She warned me that payback is hell. I take that to mean that she's going to get me back for my little stunt? But wasn't this whole thing payback for what she did? Hmm...seems we're falling into a vicious cycle of revenge that can only end in tragedy. That was unusally deep of me._

_Ah, well. Revenge is supposed to be bittersweet, yeah? I suppose her getting me back is where the bitter part comes from, cause right now I'm finding revenge to be sugary sweet with whipped cream on top. I have a sudden craving for pie. With whipped cream on top. This calls for a trip to the kitchens. 'Cept it's past curfew. Stubborn stomach. Guess I'll have to borrow Harry's invisibility cloak, which I know nothing about, pfft._

* * *

The sixth year boys were congregated in a corner of the common room, thoroughly entranced by a game of Exploding Snap, as were many others. It seemed Seamus had managed to get his eyebrows singed off again. Really, he should be more careful, it wasn't a good look for him.

The game of Exploding Snap seemed to be loosing it's appeal, so someone suggested Gobstones. Perfect. Soon, everyone would be too busy laughing at the first person to get slimed to notice me sneaking up the boys' staircase, and I'd be invisible when I came back down. I fell back to hide in the shadows, lurking; waiting.

That sounds awfully sinister, doesn't it? Well, I get quite nasty when I'm delayed from enjoying my pie. The same thing also happens when I'm denied chocolate. But that's beside the point.

I got a good laugh when Ron got squirted head-on with a goopy purple liquid, as did the common room audience. I made a quick dash into the stairwell and sprinted up the steps, taking two at a time. I didn't have the luxury to linger this time around. Though I did have time to hum my theme song to myself. _Da da DUH! Da da DUH! DUH DUH!_

I slammed into the room and skidded over to Harry's trunk. I curled my fingers under the lip of the top and yanked. And yanked and yanked. And yanked some more. It was locked tight. _Well poo_. I started fumbling around for my wand in my robe pockets but froze when I heard the door sqeauk slightly on its hinges as it swung open.

"I've had trouble with thieves lately, so I thought it best to cast a few security spells. Never can be too careful you know," a teasing voice said from behind me. I got a sudden feeling of déjà vu as I turned around slowly to find Harry leaning casually against the doorframe. _Caught in the act. Again. Ginny, doll, you have got to work on your covert abilities._

I had quite enjoyed the view I got last time I was up here, so it was slightly disappointing to find him fully clothed. Though, the teasing smirk and quirked eyebrow made him look so incredibly sexy that it was hard to really care about what he was or wasn't wearing.

"You seem to have developed quite the fascination with my trunk recently," he commented matter-of-factly.

When all the evidence points to you and you have no hope of recitifing the situation, play dumb. "_Your_ trunk?" I asked in a surprised tone, "Oh dear me. I thought this was _Ron's_ trunk. Silly me. So sorry." Harry looked over to Ron's bed and then back at me, his eyes trying to convey a message that I took to mean: _And you confused our trunks how? _Quite a reasonable question, as Ron's trunk was quite obviously labeled _Ronald Weasley_ (due to the house elves once confusing his trunk with Fred's, which resulted in chaos when he tried to open it; I swear he smelled like dung bombs for at least a week), not to mention all the Chudley Cannons paraphanalia surrounding it. I shrugged and gave a nervous grin.

"And just what were you hoping to find in Ron's trunk?" He pushed himself away from the door and shut it behind him. Suddenly I felt like a little bunny rabbit cornered by a fox or some other, equaly scary predator.

"Er - spare socks?" Had I just made that a question? What a time to be indecisive.

"Oh? So is that why you were in my trunk the other day, looking for a spare pair of boxers?" _No silly, what would I need a spare pair of boxers fo - oh._

Grinning sheepishly, I admitted, "It was such a cute pair of boxers though. I had to take them to prove that the Boy-Who-Lived actually wore Snitch-themed boxers."

His cheeks were tinged a slight red as he questioned, "You put my boxers on display?" I shifted from foot to foot trying to think of a way to explain it without mentioning the secret assignmets, which were to remian secret, quite obviously. "Was it some sort of dare or something?"

_Why thank you, Harry. You provided me with an answer._ "Sure. A dare."

"And now you're in here because?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. Didn't he know that cuiosity killed that cat?

"No, I just want pie. So I need to borrow your invisibilty cloak. And since you're such a nice guy, I know that you wouldn't deny a girl her pie," I told him sweetly. There was no underlying threatening tone. Not at all.

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair distractedly. This in turn distracted me because he looks really hot when he does that. I should stop obsessing over him; it really isn't healthy. I shook my head to return it to the present when he muttered, "You could have just asked to borrow it, you know."

Huh, I actually hadn't thought of that. But now that he'd mentioned it, that sounded like a much better course of action than barging into his dorm and abducting his cloak. I should really stop and think before I act. Of course, asking to borrow it would have required that I actually talk to him face-to-face, which would have been really difficult seeing as how every time I saw him I was reminded of him in a towel, just out of the shower. It's a very distracting mental image. Not only that, but it causes my face to blush so much, my head feels like it's on fire.

"Shall we?" Again I had to shake myself out of my mental tangents and back to reality. Yet another thing I needed to improve on: my attention span.

"Huh?" I asked oh-so-intelligently.

"Pie, right?" he asked, tossing a cloak over his shoulders and all but his head disappearing. (Floating heads look _so_ incredibly weird.) Now when had he pulled his invisibility cloak from his trunk? I nodded mutely. "Let's go, then." Next thing I knew, Harry had thrown the cloak over my head and had his hand on the small of my back, pushing me out of the dorm and towards the kitchens. We were off.

**A/N: Will fluff ensue? Who knows, maybe I'll be evil and keep it platonic. Yeah, right. There will definitely be some flirting next chapter. I'm getting ready to go to the beach, so I'll be without computer access for over a week. I should have an update by Monday, the 15th. If not, it'll definitely be up by Wednesday. That's it for this chapter, so review! Please and thank you!**

**-Phaerie**


	4. Top Secret

**Disclaimer:** Phaerie doesn't own Harry Potter and Co. Short, simple, and to the point. 

**The Secret Assignments**

**Chapter Four**

**Top Secret**

Is there anything better than scrumptious apple pie? Why, yes, I do believe there is. Sharing scrumptious apple pie with your scrumptious crush. I always wondered what paradise was like, and finally I've found it.

Of course, Harry had to go and ruin the moment by bringing up the whole boxer incident again.

"So, are you going to tell me?" Harry asked before stuffing a large piece of pie into his mouth.

"Tell you what?" I wondered curiously, too busy with my own slice of pie to figure out what he meant on my own.

"Who dared you to nick my boxers."

Ah, I should have known. And thus paradise faded away and I was brutally thrown back into reality.

"Nope," I answered. I was on the verge of massacaring my pie while pretending it was Harry's brain but stopped because the pie hadn't done anything but be delciously yummy and it would be a shame to waste such good pie.

"Ginny," he said warningly. Unfortunately for him, he had a small dullop of whipped cream on his nose (no clue how it got there) and so his intimitadtion techniques were lost on me as I tried to keep myself from laughing and thereby choking on my pie.

I swallowed and asked airily, "What does it matter anyway?" I flicked my fork in the process and bits of apple and pie crust spattered over the table. I stared down at them longingly. No matter how small, no bits of apple pie should ever be wasted.

Harry had dropped his fork onto his plate and sighed. "Because I'd like to know who has you sneaking into the boys' dorms to steal their underwear."

"Harry, please don't go all over-protective brother on me. I get enough of that from my brothers." _Yeah, and you acting like my brother would kind of make the whole whole me fancying you thing incest, and that would be seriously creepy._

"I just don't think it's a good idea for you to be hanging around people that are going to get you into trouble, Gin," Harry went on earnestly.

If only he knew that Hermy was the one behind the whole ordeal. I think Harry and Ron's blatant disregard for rules has finally started to rub off on her. So really, Harry is the one that I shouldn't be hanging out with - in a weird, roundabout way - since he's the reason Hermione is such a bad influence on me. Isn't that ironic?

Actually, I don't know if that's ironic or not because I forgot what the word means and don't have a dictionary on hand. However, my word is law, so it is ironic because I say it is ironic.

Time to get back on track. Now, where was I? Oh, yes, once upon a time, Harry and Ginny stuffed their faces with dessert, much like Hansel and Gretal, whose names coincidentally start with the same letters, did. _Gah! More incest insinuations! Ewewew._

I think I finally lost my mind. I blame it on Harry. Though, maybe it's because I ate too much pie? Impossible! One can never eat too much pie. Harry's fault it is, then. _Shame on you Harry. First corrupting Hermy with your deliquent ways and then pushing me over the brink on insanity._

Now I've forgotten where I was. What's wrong with my brain? I really have lost my mind! No ifs, ands, or buts about it!

Oh, that's right. I was babbling on about irony and Harry's bad influence on Hermy. And before I get stuck in an endless thoughtloop, on with the story! Duh duh dun!

"Sorry, but I am incapable of disclosing any information," I informed him with a small smile.

"Why not?" he asked indignantly.

"It's top secret," I stated simply, shrugging my shoulders.

"Fine. Well, we had better start heading back to Gryffindor," he sighed and pushed away from the small table in the kitchens.

I shook my head at this notion; not only had I not finished all of my pie, but I had just recalled that I had another assignment to complete by Sunday, which was the next day. An assignment that required I sneak into Snape's private store of potions, which would be easy with the aid of an invisibilty cloak. "Actually..." I trailed off, wondering how I could persuade Harry to let me use the cloak without filling him in on the details.

"What?" he asked suspiciously, eyes narrowed.

"Well..." I began sweetly.

"Please not another dare," he begged. Having spotted my sheepish grin, he sighed resignedly. "What is it?"

"I just need to make a little stop by Snape's private stores. Shouldn't take more than a few minutes," I said dismissively, waving my fork around but this time after carefully licking off all the excess pie bits.

"You aren't getting yourself involved in something illegal, are you?" As if he's one to talk.

"Not that I know of," I chirped, finishing off the last few pie crumbs on my plate.

* * *

One would think that sneaking around with an invisbility cloak would be easy, but I've found that it's hard to focus on staying as silent as you are invisible when you are within very close proximity to the guy you fancy.

It's a miracle that Filch didn't catch us on our way to Snape's office. I could've sworn that the whole castle could hear my heart beating. _Thump thump. Thump thump._

Before I knew it, we were facing shelves of various potions ingredients and I couldn't even remember leaving the kitchens. Stupid Harry, affecting my short term memory with his non-existent respect for personal bubbles.

I just stood there for a minute, trying to remember what ingredients I was supposed to be getting, when I vaguely began to wonder just what potion Lavender had in mind. Not to sound paranoid like Harry, but it wasn't anything illegal, was it? No, Hermy had specifically said that we couldn't use the secret assignments for anything illegal. But stealing stuff was illegal, wasn't it? So what laws were we not supposed to break? _Mental note: ask for clarification on 'illegal' at next meeting._

Shredded skin of boomslang. My roving did a double take that left me dizzy for a few seconds when they passed over the label. Well, that was one of them down. Now what was the other one?

"Aha!" I whispered triumphantly, spotting the other ingredient on one of the top shevles. "Harry, could you grab me that powdered horn of a bicorn please?"

He didn't even have to stretch for it. When did he get so tall? I was temtped to ask him how the weather was up there.

He handed me the jar and I stuck two ingredients in my robe pocket, enlarged for just the occasion. Grinning, I turned to Harry. His brow was knitted in concentration.

When I raised an eyebrow, he asked, "Gin, aren't those ingredients in the Polyjuice Potion?"

I shrugged. I only vaguely recalled what a Polyjuice Potion was, and I doubted Snape'd ever covered the ingredients in class.

"Who asked you to get these ingredients?"

"Sorry, Harry. Top secret." He frowned and opened his mouth, then shut it again. "Look, I promise that it's nothing too bad, no worse than some of the stuff you, Ron, and Hermy get into."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

"Harry, trust me. Everything is fine. You have nothing to worry about. Now, we need to get back to the Tower. Let's go!" Grabbing him by the elbow, I dragged him back out into the hall, where, luckily, he had the precsence of mind to throw the invisibility cloak back over us because I had completely forgotten about it.

* * *

We were about halfway down the hallway that led to Gryffindor when Harry jerked me behind a suit of armor. I opened my mouth to tell him off for yanking my arm out of its socket, but he clamped my mouth shut with his hand. It was then that I noticed that I was now facing him, squished up against his chest. 

I looked up at Harry, but he was watching the corridor. I turned my head as best I could with his hand still covering my mouth and froze as I saw Filch walk past, stepping where we had just been standing. He was muttering to himself, something about cabbages I think.

Neither of us moved until we couldn't hear his footsteps anymore. Harry pulled his hand away and breathed a sigh of relief. "That was close," he whispered, his breath tickling my ear. All I could do was nod.

"Ginny?" I looked up, straight into his eyes. Have you ever seen his eyes? I love his eyes. They're so green; like a fresh-pickled toad. I broke eye-contact and my eyes fell on his lips, which is probably a much worse place for them to look than his eyes.

I could only imagine what my face must have looked like at that point. I was thinking it looked like something along the lines of a cinnamon flavored Bertie Bott's jellybean, though it may have been more of a strawberry jam.

Now was it just my imagination, or was Harry's face getting closer to mine quite rapidly?

"Er," I stammered, stepping back from him and out of the safety of the cloak, "We should really get back to the Tower." I then darted off down the hall, squeaked the password at the Fat Lady and made a mad dash for the sanctity of my dormroom.

* * *

**Gin-Gin's Super Secret Journal**

_Dear Journal,_

_I am a complete and utter buffoon. It is no pleasure to write this, but I can lie to myself no longer. And I thought it couldn't get worse after the elbow in the butterdish and the Valentine poem. Oh, how wrong I was._

_I just had the perfect oppurtunity to kiss Harry Potter (it even looked as if he would be the one to initiate it) and guess what I did? I turned tail and ran! Whatever happened to Gryffindor courage? Why did it have to choose right then to abandon me? Why?_

_Excuse me while I go drown in self-misery._

_P.S. I did get my pie fix and I got those potion ingredients Lavender wanted. Hip hip hooray. (In case you didn't catch it, that was sarcasm.)_

**A/N: Ta-da! Sorry it was late. Please forgive me! I don't know when I'll be able to update next, since school starts in less than a week and I have to get ready. Hopefully it won't be too long. I'll post something (thought it may be short) by Saturday the 27th. After that, updates will hopefully be weekly.**

**Thank You Time (So many reviews!):**

**Sabine Strohem-Moss:** Don't you just love pie? Pie is by far the best dessert ever invented, in my opinion. Thank you so much for reading and reivewing!

**dress-without-sleeves: **So sorry the update was late! Glad you liked the last chapter. I hope you liked this one too. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!

**famousindafuture: **Thank you so much for that awesome review! Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!

**DracozFallenAngel: **Harry and Ginny are the awesomest couple ever, though Lily and James come in at a close second. Thanks oodles for reading and reviewing!

**Strandy 25: **Sorry the update was late. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!

**Legit: **It is very hard to stop reading manga to read books without all the pretty pictures. And you really should read the book; it's awesome! Thanks bunches for reading and reviewing!

**crazy4tamorap: **Yes it is a great book. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!

**harrypotteravatarfan1: **Well, I wrote more. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!

**Queen Tigress: **I like fluff, too. Thanks oodles for reading and reviewing!

**quidditchgurl07: **Well, it was apple pie. Where there enough fluff in this chapter? I don't know, I've already forgotten what I wrote. Anyway, thanks so much for reading and reviewing!

**bookworm81290: **I love pie, too. It's yummy. I'm glad you like it so far! Thanks bunches for reading and reviewing!

**NShadows: **Chapter four is finally here. Was it funny enough? Thansk so much for reading and reviewing!

**designergurl: **I made more words. Thanks oodles for reading and reviewing!

**-KattyKoo-: **Heart boxers? Those are cute! Glad you like it so far! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!

**BexyLou: **So sorry the update was late. I'm really glad you like it. Thank you tons for reading and reviewing!

**forbiddenlight: **Hermione's retaliation will be in the next chapter. Super glad you like it so far! Thanks so so much for reading and reviewing!

**ronslilprincess: **Fluff is wonderful. And Harry/Ginny fluff is even more wonderful. There will lots of Harry/Ginny fluff coming up. Thanks bunches for reading and reviewing!

**blueclover13: **Ginny's theme song doesn't really come from anything, I don't think. At least not that I remember. Hmm...this requires more thought. In the meantime, thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

**Tamaran Girl: **A long review! I love long reviews:D Ginny is going to make Hermione do something along the lines of getting together with Ron, though I'm not sure what yet. I wish there were guys like, too. Then the world would be perfect. I think it's an unspoken law that all boys have to be assholes. I think it's in there genetics. Anyway, thankyouthanyouthankyou for reading and reviewing!

**Augurey Song: **Well, nothing happened, but it wasn't platonic! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

**LyssaTucci: **Lots of fluff will happen soon. Promise. Thanks oodles for reading and reviewing!

**I-Lurve-Harry-and-Ron: **Cookies...now I want a cookie. You get another cookie! (:) (It's a chocolate chip cookie.) Thanks oodles upon oodles for reading and reviewing!

**Jill-Weasley: **It is such an awesome, yeah? Loveitloveitloveit. I'm glad you like it so far. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

**Don't you want to leave a review so that you can get a thank you next chapter? Plus, reviews make me update a lot faster. So review, and have a lovely day!**

**-Phaerie**


	5. Laying Down the Law

**A/N: OMG I am so sorry that this chapter is a week late! School has been mega-brutal with the homework! And then there's the fact that I've developed a social life that requires that I get out of the house at least once each weekend. Anyway, it's here, and everything at school is calming down so updates should be biweekly, weekly if I get a good idea. Reading over the stuff I have written in my notebook for this, I'm left to wonder just what is wrong with my brain. The list I've come up with to answer that is very interesting indeed.**

**Disclaimer: **Phaerie no own. Phaerie no know correct grammer.

**The Secret Assignments**

**Chapter Five**

**Laying Down the Law**

Hermione was late. Granted, there wasn't a fixed time that we were supposed to all meet in the Room of Requirement - it was more or less watch for the others to leave the Great Hall, then get up and leave as well - but everyone else was already situated around the small table with the chest sitting atop it and Hermione had yet to arrive, despite being the first to leave the Great Hall. Very unprofessional of her.

Hermy made her grand entrance not two seconds later, lugging a heavy looking book with her. She looked to be quite vexed, truth be told. I wondered if they'd had a test in Potions earlier that day.

"There is such a thing as being fashionably late, Hermione, but this doesn't qualify," Parvati told her the moment the door swung open. Apparently, she was meeting a seventh year Ravenclaw in the library to "study."

Lavender added, "Granted, we didn't set an exact time, but really Hermione, making us all wait on you for twenty minutes is just unprofessional." Ahh! Mental brick wall - UP! All brain cells: we are on red alert! Protect yourselves from the mind readers!

"I sense that you're in a bad mood," Luna commented, eyeing Hermy curiously.

"Oh, well spotted!" Hermy snapped back as she stomped over and threw her book down on the table viciously, "Ten points to Ravenclaw!"

You know, I wonder if points are added when just anyone says that. I mean, the scoreboard couldn't possibly be so delcately enchanted to add points only when certain people say it. I think the professors mostly rely on the fact that no one's figured it out and therefore students have no reason to go around sputtering about points. I'll have to test that theory later.

"What's got your knickers in a twist?" Parvati asked haughtily, crossing her arms so forcifully it looked as if she nearly dislocated a shoulder.

Hermy leveled Parvati with a glare and bent over to open the tomb of a book she had lugged in with her. She pulled out a loose piece of parchment and stuffed it in my face. Luckily, I received no horrendous paper cuts from this brutal action. Had I recieved one, I would have run out of there for the Infirmary, screaming for Mummy. They may be infintesimal, but paper cuts hurt like the dickens.

All previous resentment for the near paper cut incident flew from my mind when I focused on the paper in front of me. It seemed there had been a Potions test earlier, and best of all, written at the top in bold, red ink was a 98. Smirking maliciously, I held back the urge to laugh manically while stroking an invisible beard into a satanic point.

The other three were looking at us curiously. Hermy withdrew the parchment from my face and stuffed it in her robe pocket. Heading back over to her colosal book, she turned to the first page, which was blank. She pulled out a quill and a bottle of ink, then started scrawling across the top of the page. "Before this whole thing gets out of hand, we need to set up a few more guidelines."

Hermy's writing stopped briefly as her gaze shifted over to glare at me; I smiled cheerfully and waved. "First off, secret assignments shall no longer interfere with school work. Assignments having to do with schoolwork will immediately become void. Once again, let me state that while school rules may be broke, actual laws are to be followed."

"Just take all the fun out of it, why don't you?" I stage-mumbled, mainly just to piss Hermy off even more.

"Therefore, Lavender, the assignment you sent me is hereby void," Hermy continued, raising her voice to talk over me.

"What!" Lavender exclaimed indignantly, springing from her seat, "It's not illegal!"

"Yes, it is," Hermione insisted with her hands on her hips.

I got the feeling I'd missed something. I hate being out of the loop. Telepathy would solve the out-of-the-loop problem easily enough, but can one learn to be a telepath, or is it something you're born with? If it is, then it's lucky that Lavender and Parvati found each other to talk to telepathically. They probably thought they were all alone in the world until one day they sent out a telepathic plea and Hark! There was an answer!

"What's illegal?" Parvati asked perplexedly. Hazaa! I wasn't the only one left out of the loop! Though, I felt sorry for Parvati, she looked so dejectedly confused. Like she'd found herself helplessly alone in the world again.

"Nothing," Lavender snapped, plopping back down on the couch huffily. I found myself comparing the look on Parvati's face to that of a neglected puppy.

"Lavender, you have to fight for your right to party," Luna stated. This caused Hermy to snort, her lips twitching upwards as she did so. Lavender and Parvati dissovled into those annoying giggles of theirs and Luna smiled pleasantly. Screw feeling sorry for Parvati - who was obviously in on this particular inside joke - I had my own pity party to throw.

"You're absolutely right, Luna," Lavender agreed in-between giggle fits. Turning to Hermy, she cleared her throat and said, "I shall research this topic of legality regarding my assignment and get back to you." There was silence for a moment, and then they all started laughing again. I was left looking on helplessly, finding myslef in the shoes of the poor aforementioned puppy. Yes, the puppy wore shoes. Clunky red high-heels. They clashed horribly with the pink taffeta cape tied around his neck.

It was quite a while before they all calmed down. They seemed to find each others laughter rather infectious. This effect was totally missed by me. Finally, Hermy slammed her tomb/book on the table to get everyone's focus.

"One more thing," she began, "We'll be keeping a log of the assignments. Just stick a copy of each assignment you recieve in this book. That's all for now, folks." As they all burst out in more fits of laughter, I stood and left, on my way back to my dorm, willing them all to hypervenilate.

* * *

**Gin-Gin's Top Secret Journal**

_September 12, 1996_

_Yo Journal,_

_I really need to brush up on my muggle pop culture. My ignorance to it has led to many a confusing moment. In the meantime, however, I shall have to study the Goblin Rebellions, as Hermy is a sadistic wirty dord._

**To:** Mad Hatter

**From:** Game Master

**Assignment:** Study the Goblin Rebellions of the sixteenth century this weekend for at least four cumulative hours. Happy reading!

**Deadline: **You have until Sunday night to complete your studying.

_Gah. Die Hermy, die!_

**A/N: Yeah, it's short. Sorry 'bout that. But the next chapter is going to have HG fluff! Yay! At the moment, I don't know when I'll be able to update. Homework and sports have my schedule packed. But I promise I'll update ASAP.**

**Thank You Time!**

**Jill-Weasley:** Yeah, writing the non-kissing moment nearly killed the HG shipper inside me. But it was necessary for the plot. I think. I don't really know, actually. Hmm. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**Sabine Strohem-Moss:** But will there be a next kiss? I could be really evil and have Harry reject her. Okay, so not really because that goes against my always-have-a-happy-ending policy, but still. We must consider Harry's feelings on the matter and apply them to the situation. Or I must at least. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**ronslilprincess:** Harry and Ginny will PREVAIL! And so will the fluff, very very soon. Thanks bundles for reading and reviewing!

**famousindafuture:** Yours was definitely the most amusing review I've recieved. Thanks oodles for reading and reviewing!

**Legit: **Piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie. Reading all the reviews that mention pie has left me with a major craving. Unfortunately, it's really late and we have no pie here. -sigh- Thanks bundles for reading and reviewing!

**Duck Goddess:** Lavender needs the Polyjuice Potion for...something. Truthfully, I haven't even worked out all the details of it yet. This fic is totally extemporaneous (I just learned that word in English). Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**Pussin Boots: **Yeah, the Snape office part was way rushed. I really wanted to update and I didn't have time to fix it. I may fix it later, when I start revising the earlier chapters. Anywho, thanks oodles for reading and reviewing!

**Augurey Song: **Yeah, in reality Ginny probably would've pounced Harry, but that wouldn't make for a very long fic. Plus, I felt like being evil. I have the POWER! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**blueclover13:** Hot Gimmick is one of my fave manga, though I'm only on volume 4. That's gotta be the wackiest love geometrical shape ever. Girl Got Game in another one of my faves. Playing basketball and living in the guys dorm, what could be better? Have you heard of Crimson Hero or Absolute Boyfriend? They're in ShojoBeat and way cool. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**dress without sleeves:** I love being evil! It's so much fun! Thanks oodles upon oodles for reading and reviewing!

**forbiddenlight:** They will kiss. Eventually. But I'm in an evil mood so it might not be for awhile. But they will kiss before the fic is done. Thanks tons for reading and reviewing!

**quiddithcgurl07:** I'm so sorry about the late update! Please forgive me! I'll put lots of fluff in the next chapter, promise! Thank you for reading and reviewing!

**-KattyKoo-: **Lol. This guy in my class once ran around the tennis courts during P.E. in his boxers. He knew all the girls were giggling. He just soaked up the attention like a sponge. That was a very interesting day. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**Duck-a-roo:** Love your penname. And your guess was kinda close, except that I could never bring myself to write about Harry falling for another girl (even under the influence of a person-disguising potion). Lavender is going to use it to steal a guy though. But from who, I wonder? Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**Snow White: **Yay for pie! I heart pie. Thanks bunches for reading and reviewing!

**I-Lurve-Harry-and-Ron:** Brackets inside brakcets are fun, though very confusing when you start doing that stuff on a graphing calculator. Thanks soooooo much for reading and reviewing! Here, have some cookies! ( : ) ( : ) ( : ) They only have two chocolate chips because the formatting won't let me put four.

**nixtear:** I don't think I've ever updated soon. But I'll keep trying. Thanks oodles for reading and reviewing!

**HarryGinny4RonHermione4TonksLupin4ever:** Please don't self-combust, I've heard it's very messy. And there will be fluffity fluff fluff in the next chapter, promise! Thank you for reading and reviewing!

**-Phaerie**


	6. To be Hated by the Fates

**Disclaimer: **If Phaerie owned Harry Potter and Co., you know it would be a gazillion times cooler. Since its just regular-type cool, Phaerie doesn't own it. Quite a shame, really.

**Note: I'm changing Game Master's last assignment.**

**Recap:**

**Gin-Gin's Top Secret Journal**

_September 12, 1996_

_Yo Journal,_

_I really need to brush up on my muggle pop culture. My ignorance of it has led to many a confusing moment. In the meantime, however, I shall have to study other useless crap, as Hermy is a sadistic wirty dord._

**To: **Mad Hatter

**From: **Game Master

**Assignment: **You are to spend at least five hours on Sunday in the library reading books with titles that includes the words: Advanced Herbology, Tricky Charms, Powerful Potions, Perplexing Transfigurations, and Defense for the Dedicated. Happy reading!

**Deadline: **To be completed by 11:00 P.M. Sunday, September 14.

_Gah. Die Hermy, die!_

**The Secret Assignments**

**Chapter Six**

**To be Hated by the Fates**

"You!" I exclaimed as I jumped out of the girls' stairwell into the common room, pointing an accusing finger as the bushy blob that was poking out from behind a tomb of a book. Hermione's head slowly surfaced and she quirked an eyebrow at me. "Don't you get all smug and cheeky with me you—you—YOU!"

I marched over to her, tore her book from her grubby little hands and slammed it down on a nearby table. Then I grabbed her by the elbow and jerked her up, dragging her behind me roughly as I made my way back up to my room. As soon as the door had slammed shut behind us, I rounded on her and spat, "What the _fuck_? You just fed us that shit last night about assignments not being allowed to interfere with anything school related, and then you expect me to actually read that shitload?"

"Language, Ginny dear," she admonished with a devious smirk. "And to clarify, last night I said, _and I quote_, 'Secret assignments shall no longer interfere with school work. Assignments having to do with schoolwork will immediately become void.' The assignment I assume that you are currently referring to has nothing to do with schoolwork, and it in no way interferes with your schoolwork, unless, of course, you have some essay that you should be working on instead?"

My hands balled into fists at my sides, and as I stood there fuming, I found myself pondering the possibility of Hermione having a birthmark made up of three sixes in a circular pattern. Her being the Anti-Christ would certainly explain her Slytherin-esque evil actions as of late.

"Well, if that was all, I'll just get back to my reading then. Tootles!" she chirped as she waved cheerily and walked out of the dorm. It was a good thing that I couldn't presently recall where I'd left my wand the night before or I doubt Hermione would have retained any ability whatsoever to read her precious book.

**Gin-Gin's Uber Super Secret Journal**

_September 14, 1996_

_My dearest Journal,_

_The capitalized Journal thing is beginning to irk me. Journal is not your name. In fact, you don't have a name. My last journal had a name. Of course, my last journal also wrote back to me to tell me his name. I doubt that you're going to try and carry on a conversation with me though, Journal._

_**I wouldn't be so sure Ginerva dear.**_

_Haha. Just kidding. That actually creeped me out a bit. Wow, I managed to creep myself out. Go me! Anyway, back to business. From here on out, you're name shall be…Bruhilda. Why, you would ask were you capable of such. Because I needed a stress reliever after creeping myself out earlier and just seeing that name makes me giggle._

_Hmm. Perhaps I should get to the real reason for this impromptu entry (can any entries in a journal really ever be impromptu, Bruhilda?). Due to Hermy being the ebil (she is not, in fact, the Anti-Christ. Apparently some kid named Damien is. Therefore, she isn't actually evil, no she is ebil, a slightly lesser form of demonic-y-ism…) witch that she is—so ebil in fact that she will henceforth be known as Ebil One— I am currently stuck in the –shudder- library, of all places. And she's forcing me to actually study by misusing the sanctity of the Assignments! It's her way of getting me back for the whole test thing, of course. And I'm going to have to retaliate in kind once this nightmare is over with. We are well on our way to turning this into an all-out revenge war. Should be fun._

_What won't be fun, however, is reading all this poo (I am making an attempt to clean out my potty mouth as I've discovered that I sound just like my many brothers when I curse, and I'd really rather not sound like those dolts). I had planned on just lounging around here during my sentence, reading the latest issue of _Witch Weekly _if I so fancied, but Ebil One is making it a point to appear sporadically to check up on me. I really shouldn't be writing this, actually, since she could reappear at any moment…_

* * *

I'd been sitting in the library working my way into a comatose state by way of boredom for near three hours before anything of note actually occurred. Madame Pince had been glaring at me off and on during my lengthy stay, which I suppose was because I kept slamming various books around as I pulled them off the shelves and flinging them across the table I was sitting at after each one of dear Hermy's surprise inspections. 

Said thing of actual noteworthiness just happened to be one Harry Potter. He strolled in through the large double doors for Merlin knows why (though I suspect it was because the Fates are very set against me; I've no idea what I did to anger them, but I shall investigate and rectify the situation as soon as possible) and began browsing the aisles nonchalantly. Naturally, the second that I noticed him I squeaked and ducked down behind the book I was skimming, glad for the first time that day that it was as humongous as it was.

I felt a tap on my shoulder, Hermione no doubt, and spun around while letting my eyes narrow into what I hoped was a terrifying glare only to yelp (which once again drew Madame Pince's Medusa-like stare my way) when I was met with bright green eyes instead of dark brown.

_Gah! I've been spotted! Mental note numero…next: improve stealth/hiding skills ASAP. A secret agent of my caliber must blend into the surroundings as seamlessly as a demiguise._

I blushed and had the sudden urge to smash my head repeatedly into the nearest stonewall. For you see, I had been studiously avoiding Harry since the Near Kiss Incident, a daunting task as he had been trying to talk to me all weekend. Should I risk Hermione's wrath and abandon my assignment to delay this encounter once again? I had a sudden mental image of Hermione laughing manically as I turned on a spit over a blazing fire. With a shaky grin, I muttered. "H-Harry, hi. How are you?"

"Fine, thanks. Mind if I join you?" he asked easily, nodding to the chair across from mine at the table.

_Yes, I most certainly do mind! And you most certainly cannot! Not only will you get me in trouble with Hermione— because I mean really, how can I be expected to read this crap when you're _right there_—but your close proximity will most assuredly cause me to make a fool of myself again!_

"Sure. Have a seat," I replied instead. Now that I think about it, my brain and my mouth should really communicate more since they always seem to be at odds. What ever happened to the good old days when I was actually capable of saying what I thought?

And so Harry took the seat across from me, laying down a book of his own but not opening it. We both just sat there in an uncomfortable silence. Seeing that I wasn't about to start a conversation anytime soon, he inquired, "You have a lot of books here. Getting a head start on the year?"

"Sure," I murmured as I ducked my head and let my bangs cover my burning face. I stared desperately down at the copy of _Perplexing Transfigurations Made Simple _by Wanda Willow that I had open on the table and hoped that he'd just open his own book and start studying it instead of me so that I could collect the pieces of my shattered composure.

"So about the other night…" he began and I felt my blood run cold. On the bright side, my face was no longer flushed as all the blood in my body had been redirected toward my frantically beating heart. On the dark side, though, it seemed Harry was determined to talk about the Incident. That spit over the fire was starting to look quite charming but my feet seemed to have turned into lead weights, halting my escape. I gulped and prayed to the Fates in a last ditch effort, asking them for forgiveness for whatever I had done to anger them.

_Whatever it was that I did, this is just too cruel, don't you think?_

**A/N: I know, it's short. And way overdue. I'm still battling against the last remnants of writers' block. But I'm finally back with an update! I'm going to post this and then read over the other chapters because I can't accurately remember everything that I wrote and work on revising everything. Hopefully the next chapter will be up within a week. Hopefully. I have a summer camp thing next week, so who knows? Anyway, leave a review if you're still reading this! I'm really sorry for the long absence! Oh, and thanks to all those who reviewed in the past! I loved all the reviews!**

**-Phaerie**


	7. Study Date

**Note: It's four in the morning, so I'm just going to post this un-betaed and un-revised. I haven't even read over it at all. Please bare with any mistakes. I'm currently going through and revising all the chapters, and this one has just been moved to the top of my priority list.**

**Disclaimer: **Phaerie is very desolate to announce that she does not own Harry Potter and Co., but she is also very ecstatic to announce that she does own a brand new iBook. Hazaa!

**The Secret Assignments**

**Chapter Seven**

**Study Date**

"So about the other night..." As Harry mumbled the dreaded words, I tried to conjure up a black hole to suck me away from this nightmare and into oblivion. He opened his mouth to continue while my mind started viciously screaming, _Dammit! Where's a black hole when you need one! There's got to be a star imploding somewhere near here!_

"Did you ever figure out what those potions ingredients were for?" he asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Eh?" I stared back at him blankly. "Potions ingredients?" I repeated cluelessly. _What is he on about? What do potions ingredients have to do with the Incident?_

"For that dare, remember?"

I tilted my head to the side. "What dare?"

Harry sighed. "Do you at least remember the pie?"

"Pie?" I blinked owlishly before 'oohing in realization as the memory hit me. _Ah yes. The pie. The delectable, delish pie._ "I do recall the pie..." That was the highlight of the evening. After that I had had to get those potions ingredients out of Snape's private store for Lavender. And after _that_ the night took a Wronski Feint and failed to pull in time, what with the Incident and all. _Oh dear. Just thinking about _it_ has me all flustered again. I do believe my face is now on fire. Can black holes douse fires? Or would I be stuck in oblivion, damned to eternal suffering from third-degree burns?_

"I thought the pie might jog your memory. It was quite delicious." _Indeed it was, Harry. Indeed it was. Come to think of it, I could go for some more pie right about now, actually... _"So did you ever find out why you were dared to get those particular ingredients?" _Oh, he's talking about that assignment, then. _My memories of that night had been rather focused on how the night ended, but I do have a fuzzy recollection of stealing that shredded skin of boomslang and powdered horn of a bicorn.

"Erm. Well, I don't actually know what they were for, but it was mentioned by a certain law-abiding magic-user," a.k.a. The Ebil One, "That something illegal was going on and said law-abider refused to participate in it. I still have no clue what they were on about. Of course, I don't usually, which is _very_ irksome."

Harry frowned when I mentioned the illegal bit, but he shook his head and a smirk began to inch its way across his face as he inquired, "Then I take it that the giant dare game is still in progress?"

"Unfortunately," I grumbled in response, glaring down at the tomb in front of me. "I'm actually in the middle of one right now."

"What is it this time?" _Curiosity killed the cat Harry!_ I'm not quite sure how that transpired, though. Perhaps the cat had a few too many Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans because he was so curious to find out if all the flavors were, in fact, authentic. Fred and George tried that once, and they were sick for a week. Mom did mention somewhere in the middle of her rant that they nearly killed themselves, but I think that was more due do to the fact that they were cramming so many into their mouths at once that they started to choke.

But getting back to the relevant, I waved my hand to indicate the stack of books on the table. "I'm to spend the day reading books with titles that include: Advanced Herbology, Tricky Charms, Powerful Potions, Perplexing Transfigurations, and Defense for the Dedicated."

Harry gave me a questioning look. I interpreted it as: _What the hell kind of wiggidy-whack dare is that?_

"I'd rather not talk about it," I mumbled.

"You don't feel like talking about it because it's too confusing to explain, or you don't feel like talking about it because even talking about it has the potential to send you into a coma out of sheer boredom?" Harry asked.

I could feel the lingering sense of doom completely dissolve as I explained, "This is revenge for my last dare, which was revenge for the dare that started it all."

"A vicious cycle," he murmured sagely.

I nodded and continued, "I now know why they say revenge is bittersweet. The whole getting revenge is totally sweet, but then it all turns around to bite you in the arse when someone decides to get back at you, and it's all bitter. Not to mention incredibly boring."

"So true," Harry agreed, picking up one of the books I had sprawled across the table and flipping through the endless pages. After a few minutes, he closed the tomb and looked back up at me. "What were those words again?" he asked suddenly.

I raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I think I might be able to find you some more interesting material." Harry stood up and disappeared behind the bookshelves. Of course, I jumped up to follow him.

"Tricky Charms was one of them, right?" he asked as he skimmed a shelf just above my head.

"Er, yeah," I replied perplexedly. Then I was struck by a sudden thought: it was about time that Hermione appeared metamorphised? and began rambling frantically, "Ah, actually, the person who initiated the dare keeps coming to check up on me to make sure I'm staying on task you know? And I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to be socializing. I'm not trying to run you off or anything it's just--"

"We aren't socializing," Harry cut in, pulling a book down off the shelf and handing it to me. "I'm keeping you on track. Who can fault me for that?" I looked down at the book smirked impishly at the cover: _Tricky Charms for Trick or Treating_. See, this is why I'm so head over heels for Harry; he has this uncanny ability to make everything better. _Harry, you're absolutely perfect._

-----

(**Note: **This scene switches to third-person point-of-view.)

Hermione was happily strolling down the corridor that led to the Hogwart's Library, even going so far as to hum a jaunty tune, when Parvati appeared out of nowhere beside her. Hermione's rendition of _Double Double Toil and Trouble _came to an abrupt halt as she eyed Parvati questioningly.

"What's Lavender up to?" Parvati demanded.

With a sigh, Hermione stopped in the middle of the corridor and turned around to face Parvati, crossing her arms over her chest in the process. "What _are_ you on about?"

"The other night. At the meeting," Parvati elaborated exasperatedly, "You refused some assignment from Lavender. You said something about it being illegal. What exactly did she want you to do?"

"If she didn't tell you herself then I really have no right to tell you," Hermione replied with an annoyed frown. Parvati was keeping her from torturing Ginny because of that stupid assignment she refused? Life was so unfair.

"But--"

"Yeah, so stop snooping around already!" another voice further down the corridor interrupted. Parvati and Hermione spun around to see a very miffed Lavender stalking towards them.

"I wouldn't have to snoop if you'd just tell me what's going on!" Parvati snapped back.

"It's not of your business, so drop it already!"

Hermione rolled her eyes and continued on her way to the library. She was beyond dismayed when the bickering duo followed close behind her. The moment they'd stepped through the double doors, Madame Pince was hovering in front of Parvati and Lavender shushing them and threatening to take away House points for their inconsiderate noise level. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief when the two finally shut up and made her way to where Ginny had been sitting all afternoon over in the back corner of the library.

"What the bloody hell do you care what it was in the first place?" Lavender hissed as soon as Madame Pince had disappeared behind a book shelf.

"I _care _that you're deliberately hiding things from me!" Parvati whispered back earnestly.

_And here they go again_, Hermione thought as her right eye began to develop a slight twitch.

"Fine! If you _must_ know, I asked her to brew a Polyjuice Potion!"

Hermione tried to tune their senseless babbling out, but when she did, her ears honed in on another sound--laughter. It wasn't that the sound of laughter was so foreign to her ears that a mere giggle had her stopping in her tracks, it was just that she recognized that particular wheezy kind of laugh with an occasional snort between gasp for air. She sped up her pace and rounded the last book shelf.

"What did you need--"

"Oh! Blast-ended skrewts!" Hermione's sudden outburst not only had Madame Pince glancing their way disapprovingly, but it also managed to shut both Parvati and Lavender up.

They turned away from each other to glare at Hermione and demanded simultaneously. "What's with you now?"

Hermione's fists balled at her sides and she stomped her foot childishly. "She's not supposed to be having fun!" she griped, "That defeats the whole purpose!"

Parvati and Lavender looked back at her in confusion before peering around Hermione's frizzy hair to see the couple sitting at the farthest table. Harry and Ginny were sitting side-by-side, hunched over a book and failing miserably at stifling their laughter.

Hermione stepped forward to leave the relative cover that the bookshelf beside them provided, but Parvati and Lavender each latched onto an arm and held her back.

"Wait!"

"You can't!"

"Why the hell not?" Hermione snarled at the two, trying to break away from their vice like grips.

"You'll ruin the moment!" Lavender explained.

"Yeah, Gin's finally getting her flirt on with Harry," Parvati continued.

Hermione's struggling ceased momentarily as she gazed back at her captives uncaringly. "So?"

"Do it for Harry, Hermione," Parvati urged.

"Yeah, he really needs to get himself a girl," Lavender added.

Hermione looked from one to the other before sighing dejectedly. "Fine," she agreed begrudgingly, "But she's going to pay."

Lavender and Parvati nodded placatingly while pulling Hermione back behind the bookshelf. Lavender reached up and pulled down a stack of books from the shelf at their eye-level and the three spied on the hysterical couple through the gap.

"Hey Hermione," Parvati murmured thoughtfully, "Instead of whatever re-revenge you're planning, why don't we just have Ginny ask Harry out to Hogsmeade this weekend?"

"I'm trying to get back at her, Parvati, not help her with her boy problems," Hermione grumbled.

Lavender and Parvati turned toward her with identical devious grins. "But therein lies the brilliance of the assignment," Lavender insisted.

Parvati nodded. "She'll think you're doing this to help her and Harry get together--"

"When really you're getting her back for whatever it is that has you so upset."

"How is that payback?" Hermione snapped impatiently, annoyed that she was unable to follow her Trelawny-worshipping roommates' logic.

Parvati elaborated, "She'll spend the whole week nervous and embarrassed because she won't ask him until the last second."

"But in the end, it'll benefit her, so you won't be risking retaliation," Lavender concluded with a flourish.

"Plus," Parvati added conspiratorially, "With Harry otherwise occupied, that'll leave you and Ron unaccompanied."

Hermione quickly turned away from them, looking as if she were in deep thought about the matter, but the dark flush that had spread across her cheeks had not gone unnoticed by the scheming duo. After a moment, Hermione cleared her throat and nodded before scurrying back the way they had come and out the double doors. Parvati and Lavender giggled in her wake as they performed their super-exclusive super-secret victory dance/handshake. Matchmaking was so much fun. In fact, the idea of the secret assignments had only warmed up to the two alleged mind readers once they realized the immense matchmaking possibilities it provided.

_It's time for some fun._

**A/N: Well, that took a bit longer than I thought it would. I'm so lazy. I procrastinate far too much. Ah well, I finished this chapter, and my writer's block has alleviated for the next few chapters at least, so that's good. As always, super special thanks to the reviewers! And a super-duper thanks to those that reviewed the last chapter after my lengthy hiatus. Now it the button in the bottom left corner of your screen and leave a review. Please? Pretty please? I would love you forever if you did.**

**-Phaerie**


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